Magazine cabinet



1958 c. GARDNER v 2,846,287

MAGAZINE CABINET Filed Dec. 6, 1954 r 171 fir Claz'z' Gardner MAGAZINECABINET Clair C. Gardner, Rockford, Ill.

Application December 6, 1954, Serial No. 473,235

Claims. (Cl. 312-2725) This invention relates to a new and improvedmagazine cabinet, which bears some resemblance to those disclosed in myPatents No. 2,570,054 and No. 2,631,914 but is of simpler and moreeconomical construction.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a magazine cabinethaving doors hinged on horizontal axes at their lower ends to swingoutwardly from the sides of the cabinet and operatively connected. withcontainers for the magazines and the like disposed in compartmentsprovided therefor behind the doors, so that the containers which arenormally concealed when the doors are closed are raised when the doorsare opened, so as to bring the magazines out into full view forhandiness and convenience in the selection of one or more to be read,and, of course, also make it just as convenient in the replacement ofthe magazines later, the container serving to keep the magazines in goodclean condition as well as out of sight when they are not in use.

A salient feature of the present cabinet is the provision of a pair oftoggle links on each side of the container pivotally connected togetherand pivotally connected at opposite ends to the cabinet and door, theone link of each pair being pivotally connected to the side of thecontainer so that as the links unfold in the opening of the door thecontainer is raised and as the links fold in the closing of the door thecontainer is lowered, a special advantage of this arrangement being thatthe container is so suspended that it will swing to a more nearlyupright position in the open position of the door, thus making it mucheasier to read the titles on the upper ends of the magazines thatproject from the container. The pivotal suspension of the container onthe linkages as herein disclosed also simplifies quantity production ofthe magazine cabinets, because it is not necessary to work to such closetolerances as with other automatic mechanisms in order to obtain thedesired movement of the container in relation to the movement of thedoor.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig.1 is a side view of a magazine cabinet embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on the line 22 of Fig. 1 on a smallerscale, and

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the broken line 3-3 of Fig. 2, showingthe door partway open.

The same reference numerals are applied to corresponding partsthroughout the views.

Referring to the drawing, the reference numeral 4 designates a base onthe top of which is provided a turntable 5, one half of which isconnected to the bottom 6 of the cabinet indicated generally by thereference numeral 7. The cabinet 7 is substantially square and has a top8 supported at the four corners by posts 9 and between these posts aresecured the side walls 10, 11 and 12 of a rectangular storagecompartment 13. This compartment is open on one side and has a door 14as a closure therefor hinged at 15 at the one side edge 2,846,287Patented Aug. 5, 1958 thereof on a vertical axis. A shelf 16 divides thecompartment 13 horizontally into upper and lower compartments. The lowercompartment under the shelf 16 is preferably high enough to permitstorage therein of phonograph record albums, but, of course, this spaceand the space above it may he used for storage of various things.

The three side compartments 17, 18 and 19 are for storage of magazinesand the like. Each of these compartments is closed by a door 20 that ishinged at its lower end on a horizontal aXis, as indicated at 21, and isprovided at its upper end with a suitable handle or knob 22. The threeside compartments are relatively shallow but each is deep enough toserve as a housing for an open-ended rectangular box-like container orreceptacle 23 for magazines 24 or the like, the container being closedat the bottom, as indicated at 25, and open at the top, and of a depthto accommodate the largest size magazines leaving enough of the upperend of each magazine projecting to make it easy to identify thedifferent magazines. For smaller size magazines a filler block (notshown) may be placed in the bottom of the container leaving enough depthabove it to accommodate the smaller magazines with their upper endsprojecting in the same way as the larger ones illustrated in Fig. 3. Twopairs of toggle links 26 and 27 are provided on opposite sides of eachcontainer 23, the links of each pair being pivotally connected, as at28, and the straight link 26 of each pair being pivotally connected, asat 29, to the inner side of the door 20 while the generally T-shapedlink 27' of each pair is pivotally connected, as at 30, to the cabinet.One of the links-the T-shaped link 27 of each pairis pivotally connectedat one end of the cross-portion of the T, as at 31, to the side and nearthe top of the container 23, forwardly from the center line of the side,so that the lower portion of the container normally tends to swingtoward the door by gravity.

In operation, the links 26-27 unfold as the door 20 is opened, asclearly appears in Fig. 3, and, as they unfold, the container 23 israised and the magazines 24 disposed therein are brought into view sothat one may select and withdraw a certain magazine easily from a numberstored in the contaner. The pivotal suspension of the container 23 onthe links 27 is advantageous because the container 23 is more nearlyupright when the door 20 is swung open and, as a result, the magazines,which are generally placed with their upper ends resting against theback of the container, as clearly appears in Fig. 3, are disposed almostvertically and the names thereon may be the more easily read by theperson holding the door open. The position of the container is alsohandy for the insertion of magazines when they are being put away. Ifthe open door is released, it closes by itself under gravitation of thecontainer, and if the door 26 fits closely enough the air cushion actionis enough to absorb the shock. When the door 20 is closed the container23 is, of course, completely concealed along with the folded links 2627,and the magazines 24 are therefore out of sight and are kept in goodcondition and protected against collection of dust and dirt thereon. Thecabinet 7 can .be turned readily to bring any one of the doors 20 or thedoor 14 into position adjacent a chair where the operator may besitting. In that way, access may be had to the magazines in either oneof the compartments 17, 18 and 19 or to whatever is stored in the largestorage compartment 13. The fiat top 8 is left clear for placing books,ash-trays, or the like.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding ofthe objects and advantages of my invention. The appended claims havebeen drawn to cover all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

I claim:

1. In a cabinet of the character described, a housing having an opening,a door hinged at its lower end on said housing to close said opening, apair of pivotally connected toggle links connecting each side portion ofthe upper end of the door to the housing and arranged to fold downwardlyin the closing of the door and unfold upwardly in the opening of thedoor while always disposed in upwardly diverging relationship, and anopen top receptacle suspended at its opposite sides on said togglelinkages to be raised from a lower position in the housing in theopening of the door as the linkages unfold and in gravitating to itslower position serving to assist in the closing of the door as thelinkages fold.

2. In a cabinet of the character described, a housing having an opening,a door hinged at its lower end on said housing to close said opening, apair of pivotally connected toggle links connecting each side portion ofthe upper end of the door to the housing and arranged to fold downwardlyin the closing of the door and unfold upwardly in the opening of thedoor while always disposed in upwardly diverging relationship, and anopen top receptacle pivotally suspended at its opposite sides on saidtoggle linkages so as to be disposed in a more nearly upright positionthan the door in the open position of the latter, the receptacle beingraised from a lower position in the housing in the openng of the door asthe linkages unfold and in gravitating to its lower position serving toassist in the closing of the door as the linkages fold.

3. A cabinet structure as set forth in claim2 wherein the pivotsconnecting the container to the linkages are located at the upper end ofthe container forwardly from the center line of the sides, whereby thelower end of the container tends to gravitate toward the door in theopen position of the latter, so that the container is as upright aspossible for easier removal and replacement of articles.

2,846,287 p r a 4. In a cabinet of the character described, a housinghaving an opening, a door hinged at its lower end on said housing toclose said opening, a pair of toggle links for connecting each sideportion of the upper end of the door to the housing, one of said linksof each pair being straight and pivotally connected at its one end tothe door, the other of said links of each pair being generally T-shapedand pivotally connected at one end of the crossportion to the housingand pivotally connected by the leg of the T to the other end portion ofthe first mentioned link so that the links are arranged to folddownwardly in the closing of the door and unfold upwardly in the openingof the door, and an open top receptacle pivotally suspended at itsopposite sides on the T-shaped links at the other end of thecross-portion of the T, the receptacle being raised from a lowerposition in the housing in the opening of the door as the linkagesunfold and in gravitating to its lower position serving to assist in theclosing of the door as the linkages fold.

5. A cabinet structure as set forth in claim 4 wherein the pivotsconnecting the container to the linkages are located at the upper end ofhe container forwardly from the center line of the sides, whereby thelower end of the container tends to gravitate toward the door in theopen position of the latter, so that the container is as upright aspossible for easier removal and replacement of articles.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,078,372 Patterson Nov. 11, 1913 r 1,745,593 Adams Feb. 4, 19302,491,040 Govan Dec. 13, 1949 2,570,054 7 Gardner Oct. 2, 1951 2,630,362Bass Mar. 3, 1953

